​Rami Malek has been in negotiating talks to star as Louis Dega in the remake of the 1973 classic 'Papillon along side Charlie Hunnam to play Henri 'Papillon' Charriere.

Charlie will play the role originated by Steve McQueen and Rami is in talks to play the role originated by Dustin Hoffman.

The film will shoot in September, directed by Michael Noer (Northwest) from a script by Prisoners writer Aaron Guzikowski.

The picture is backed by Red Granit and Joey McFarland, riza aziz, David Koplan,

Ram Bergman and Roger Corbi are producing.

​The film is a contemporary retelling of the original, which was based on the memoirs of convicted felon and fugitive Henri Charriere, who staged an epic escape from Devil’s island, a notorious penal colony in French Guiana, South America.

​The petty criminal from the Parisian underworld was unjustly convicted of murder in 1930s France, and he was aided by Louis Dega, a quirky counterfeiter. That’s the role Malek will play; their relationship starts with Charriere providing protection for Dega from fellow thug inmates, and it grows into a bond and Degas agrees to finance Papillon’s prison escape.

Mr. Robot changed the television game this past season with its complex storytelling and mesmerizing characters. Leading a strong and insightful cast of characters is Elliot played by the extremely talented Rami Malek. His portrayal of Elliot has led him to critical acclaim and even landed him a 2016 Emmy Award nomination for Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series.

At SDCC 2016, Rami Malek sat down with us to chat about the fallout after the massive hack, Elliot and Mr. Robot’s dynamic and what’s ahead for Elliot.

From the moment you turn on the first episode of Mr. Robot, Rami Malek has you eating out of the palm of his hand. His work on the show is mesmerizing and his acting has reached new heights. Speaking about preparing for the dark moments Elliot faces, Malek says, “Some days I really need to go to a quiet place and get there emotionally. Sometimes it helps to be close to Sam [Esmail] and the cast because I depend on them. There is that feeling of nurture that I need sometimes before I go into something that grim.”Malek continues saying that he tries to get as close to Elliot as he can before the heavy, emotional scenes. He says the grim scenes, “aren’t that challenging.” Malek continues saying, “I look forward to that because he goes to some dark places physically and emotionally, mentally. That’s what makes him so special, to me is that he somehow manages to get himself out of them anyway. That’s what makes him who he is. He’s relentless.”

Malek remarks about Elliot’s resilience in Mr. Robot saying, “He’s conflicted and he’s under so much pressure and yet he squirms his way out of things. I think that’s what makes him the hero that he is for so many. It’s because he’s flawed. His ethics are questions throughout the show. You’ve gotta say, the guy perseveres through some really difficult hardships.”Looking at season two, Malek says they’re still dealing with the fallout of the hack. He says, “We deal with the fallout quite a bit. Obviously you can already see he’s conflicted and feels very guilty about what is happening with Gideon [Michel Gill]. There’s more to come for him.”

One special quality fans and Malek love about Mr. Robot is the somewhat gruesome real world element to the show. Malek says, “The special thing about this show is we don’t live in this fairytale land where you can just destroy the worlds economy and everything is going to be better because of it. I think Sam has looked at situations all over the world where uprisings and social changes that have occurred have left power vacuums and left government and societies in disrepair.” He continues saying, “That’s not something to shy away from. There’s this big question, at what cost would you like to effect your society and the world you live in. What are the repercussions of that? What that will be for Elliot remains to be seen. I doubt that it’s going to be pleasant.”

Of course the biggest curve ball Mr. Robot threw fans in season one was the real nature of Mr. Robot (Christian Slater). Malek discusses how the monumental twist will affect Elliot in season two. He says, “I went to Sam when we first started shooting and obviously he [Elliot] has to come to terms with this. How is he going to come to terms with this.” Malek is working very hard to get this aspect of Elliot’s personality right. He’s working with a psychologist to help him relate to Elliot’s position. He says, “She’s taught me a lot about the feelings that occur after the discovery and there’s shame and denial and all those regrets that happen. There’s of course some acceptance.”

In terms of Malek playing Elliot differently now that he knows Mr. Robot is all in his head. Malek says, “I told Sam, I’m not going to look at him [Christian Slater] a lot. I’m not going to give him anything. I said, ‘Christian is going to have a hard time acting with me this year.’ Sam looked at me and was like, ‘You’re not going to look at him?’ Yeah, I don’t want to.” He continues saying, “There have been many takes where I don’t even acknowledge Christian. I feel bad from an actor. I’m so sorry man, I’m giving you nothing.”

With Elliot being the main character, Mr. Robot presents fans with a somewhat “unreliable narrator.” Someone who may not give the audience the whole truth. Malek talks about this idea of the unreliable narrator saying that everything is very real for Elliot. He says, “If you have been with Elliot throughout this journey, you know he’s talking to you. They better be real to you because they’re real to him.” He continues saying, “As far as the rest of the story goes, things may or may not come crashing down on us, but we are in it together. That’s what’s cool about it. It’s a convoluted or questionable world where he’s at. You should also question why you are watching it. I think, I think things are a bit more real than people have surmounted.”

The cast of USA Network’s “Mr. Robot” made their Comic-Con debut on Thursday night, with stars Rami Malek, Christian Slater, Carly Chaikin, Portia Doubleday and Season 2 addition Grace Gummer on hand to discuss everything from the new season to the cast’s feelings on Pokemon Go and “The Bachelorette.”

The new season will only escalate the conflicts and tensions of Season 1 for all the characters, according to the cast. Doubleday teased that Angela, who’s already taken a dark turn thanks to her new corporate job, will continue down that path this season: “I think that there’s something really dangerous to be said about her obsession with these affirmations. What that’s stemming from is something quite explosive. She’s a troubling character, and we see that shift from Season 1 to Season 2,” she admitted. “She’s very malleable, which is also very exciting, because you don’t really know what’s going to happen with her. She still has a very strong sense of who she is. I didn’t know what was going to happen with her arc at the end of the season, I asked [creator Sam Esmail] so many questions. What ends up happening, I think no one will be able to predict.”

The actors are already big fans of Gummer’s character, FBI field agent Dominique “Dom” DiPierro, who is tasked with tracking down the culprits behind last season’s EvilCorp hack. “What you see at first is not what you’re gonna get, like everybody else she’s a very complicated, layered weirdo,” Gummer said of Dom. “She uses her work to cover up her own issues that she deals with. I see her as a bright light in a dark world. She’s trying to find the people who turned the lights out. She has an instinct about who did it and why they did it and she’ll stop at nothing to find that out.” Gummer admitted that she was a big fan of Season 1 and watched it for research purposes, because the consequences for many of the characters will hinge on her in Season 2.

Other Season 2 treats to expect in the current season include “a really cool hacking scene” in an upcoming episode, per Malek, who said that creator Sam Esmail shot the scene in “one really long take. I asked Sam to show it to me one day and it was pretty mesmerizing.”During the Q&A, the cast demonstrated the easy chemistry that’s evident on screen, with Chaikin revealing that she and Slater have plenty of “deep conversations about ‘The Bachelorette'” while they’re filming. Slater agreed, quipping, “She’d better choose Luke!”The reality series isn’t Slater’s only guilty pleasure; when a fan asked whether any of the cast members play Pokemon Go, the thesp sheepishly put up his hand, while Chaikin chided the audience, “Just from a ‘Mr. Robot’ standpoint, do you guys know what access you’re handing over when you sign up for that game?!”

Malek was effusive in his praise of Slater, gushing about his co-star and at one point apologetically observing, “I’m talking about you like you’re not here.” Without missing a beat, Chaikin said, “He’s not,” playing on Slater’s imaginary role. Malek rolled with the joke, addressing the audience instead of Slater as he continued, “What I love most about working with you…”

The star praised Slater’s ability to surprise him and keep scenes fresh. “Some of our best takes are our first takes because he constantly shocks me — I never know what he’s going to do.”

Slater discussed the dynamic between Elliot and Mr. Robot in Season 2, admitting that in Season 1, “Mr. Robot is an idealized version” of who Elliot wanted his father to be,

“somebody very mysterious and powerful guiding him. “In Season 2 he’s trying to deal with that and place those restrictions” on what Mr. Robot can do, and Slater says that any time Elliot puts an obstacle in the way of Mr. Robot’s ultimate goals, “it really p—es me off.”

The cast was in high spirits at their first Comic-Con appearance, which was preceded by a snarky sizzle reel from fsociety which gloated about the success of their EvilCorp hack and invited the crowd to join them in their mission. “Now when we speak, the world listens, that’s why we’ve come here today, to the greatest Con in the world,” the masked hacker declared in the video, much to the delight of the packed ballroom. “We are fsociety, you are fsociety, and together, we can change the world!”

The cast also praised USA Network for standing behind the show, which often criticizes corporate culture and large conglomerate companies — many of which are in the TV production business.

“This is a very polarizing show; we say some crazy s–t about the world in general, there’s nothing we won’t broach, and that takes a really gutsy group of people to get behind something like that,” Malek noted. “Behind us are people who really took a chance on a show that could be polarizing and gave us the free rein to really say something. We’ve got some badasses on our side. They gave us the show, they gave you the show.”

]]>Sat, 23 Jul 2016 18:35:07 GMThttp://www.ramimalekonline.com/home/rami-maleks-interview-with-tv-after-dark-at-sdccThe Mr. Robot cast chats character and what’s coming up on Season 2 of Mr. Robot at SDCC

TV Afterdark sat down at roundtable interviews with the cast of Mr. Robot, including Rami Malek, Christian Slater, Portia Doubleday and Grace Gummer, to get all the season 2 scoop on one of our favorite shows. Only two weeks into the new season and things are really getting intense, so we were really excited to pick the stars brain’s about what’s coming next and just general dish on the show.

San Diego Comic-Con presents a challenge for USA Network’s dystopian psychological thriller Mr. Robot, a show that serves secrets with ambiguity and prefers to share them in the form of bold, dense storytelling. How to engage fans at a panel without spoiling or speaking conclusively? How to give them a fulfilling experience without giving them much of anything?​Moderator Chris Hardwick and Mr. Robot stars Rami Malek (Elliot), Christian Slater (Mr. Robot), Carly Chaikin (Darlene), Portia Doubleday (Angela), and Grace Gummer (Dominique) tackled the challenge with grace and good cheer at show’s panel on Thursday, delighting attendees while offering a minimum of revelation. Coming to Comic-Con for the first time (and recently showered with six Emmy nominations), the cast was clearly amped. “I’m all tingly!” said Slater as he took a seat.

Hardwick kept the questions broad and thoughtful. How does Slater describe the show to friends? “That’s the toughest question” he gets, said the actor. “It’s about a small group of hackers looking to wipe out from society.” Why does Chaikin think the show is so powerful? She cited the show’s filmmaking, honesty about real-world problems, and portraits of imperfect people. Does Mr. Robot tap the zeitgeist of dissatisfaction and the yearning for control? Malek agreed with that. It’s a show “about alienated, disenfranchised characters who want to change the world. The question of ‘But can they?’ comes up,” said Malek. Season 2 seeks to depict a world made worse by fsociety’s apparent Five/Nine victory, the actors explained. Creator Sam Esmail “has looked at these situations where small groups of people have gone against the norm or changed the way people live all over the world, and there are vacuums that are left afterward,” said Malek, adding that the show explores the ambition of wanting to do “something special and have a lasting effect.”The audience seemed to appreciate the serious exploration of themes.

But it wasn’t always this heavy. Doubleday offered insight into the show’s season 2 process, explaining how they use “block shooting,” which entails scenes being shot from a variety of different episodes each day. This can helpful for the actors, as they understand where the season and their characters are headed, but it can be disorienting, too. Malek said Elliot is “the greatest part” but the challenges of it makes him “kinda shit my pants.” Slater disclosed that he visited Times Square to rehearse Mr. Robot’s “kingdom of bulls—” speech before shooting it a couple days later. Malek and Slater discussed their working relationship, with Malek praising Slater for his savvy, precision, and surprise: “Some of our best takes are our first takes because he constantly shocks me — I never know what he’s going to do.”​There were lighter moments, too. Who among the cast playsPokémon Go? That would be Slater. Slayer and Chaikin’s shared TV obsession? The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. Asked to compare Mr. Robot to more “family-friendly” stuff he’s done like the Night at the Museum movies, Malek joked: “Elliot’s just like any kid next door. He’s very family friendly. Who wouldn’t want their daughter dating Elliot?”

There were hints of things to come. Doubleday says the show will explore Angela’s obsession with positive affirmation self-help. “I think that there’s something really dangerous to be said about her obsession with these affirmations,” she said. “What that’s stemming from is something quite explosive. She’s a troubling character, and we see that shift from season 1 to Season 2.… What ends up happening, I think no one will be able to predict.”

Similarly, Gummer said we should expect surprises from her FBI agent character, who is currently hunting the members of fsociety. “What you see at first is not what you’re going to get. Like everybody else, she’s a very complicated, layered weirdo,” Gummer said of Dom. “She uses her work to cover up her own issues that she deals with. I see her as a bright light in a dark world. She’s trying to find the people who turned the lights out. She has an instinct about who did it and why they did it and she’ll stop at nothing to find that out.”

You can expect an inspired Neil Diamond music cue, a return to some serious hacking adventures, and some dance moves from Angela. Malek – responding sensitively to a question from an audience member deeply affected by the season 1 death of Shayla (Frankie Shaw) – said that Shayla “is going to haunt Elliot for a long time.”

No one was asked to comment on the popular theory that Elliot is actually in a psychiatric hospital or prison and hallucinating in the current season.

The panel ended with news that Esmail will be writing a companion book for the series, due this fall, and a look at a scene from next week’s episode. Hardwick requested that attendees keep the details to themselves and not spoil it. It’s sharp, funny, and affirms how valuable another new cast member, Chris Robinson, is to the season.

]]>Sat, 23 Jul 2016 17:07:20 GMThttp://www.ramimalekonline.com/home/rami-maleks-interview-with-access-hollywood-at-sdccAccess Hollywood interviewed Rami Malek at SDCC and shares how thrilled he is to have his first Emmy nomination for “Mr. Robot.” Plus, how would he like to go incognito at Comic-Con?

]]>Sat, 23 Jul 2016 14:31:54 GMThttp://www.ramimalekonline.com/home/rami-maleks-interview-with-showbiz-junkies-at-sdccRami Malek's interview with Showbiz Junkies on the second season, his character, and what fans can expect from the critically acclaimed series. The interview took place at the 2016 San Diego Comic Con